The present invention relates to reclosable packaging such as plastic bags and, in particular to a tamper evident package and a method of manufacturing such packages on form, fill and seal equipment so as to render the package tamper evident to an ultimate consumer.
Reclosable bags have become increasingly popular both for storage purposes and as primary packaging for foodstuffs and other commodities. The closures for such packaging consist of a pair of profiles having mating interlocking elements and may have webs to facilitate joining the zipper to the package material. A slider may be provided to facilitate opening and closing the zipper. Where the package is to be used to contain food stuffs, it is important to provide the package tamper evident. That is, the consumer should be able to quickly determine, by simple inspection, whether the package has been previously opened since the time it was filled. A common way to provide such tamper evidence is to provide a header of some form extending over the zipper which must be removed before the consumer has access to the zipper. Once the header is removed, the package may be opened and reclosed with the zipper but the removed header provides clear evidence of the initial opening of the package.
When the zipper on such packaging is provided with a slider, it is difficult to provide a header going over the slider without introducing wrinkles or puckers in the package film forming the header. Not only do such wrinkles and puckers waste film, but they also render the packaging untidy.